Boot and shoe.



H. H. SCHWARTZ.

BOOT AND SHOE. APPLxoArIon rxLnn um'. 11, laos.

Patented Oct. 18,1910.

s sumssnm 1.

i UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

HENRY H. SCHWARTZ, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT AND SHOE.

To (di whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY H. SGHwAnTz, a subject of the Emperor of Russia, having filed lirst papers announcing my intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of SuHolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will v enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements 1n boots and shoes, and is especially designed to provide a shoe that will in a more perfect degree provide not only comfort but also the strengthening of the foot and ankle.

As is well known the foot and ankle consist of many delicate parts that sup ort the entire weight of the body when wal ing or standing, and inthe production of a shoe, in order to approach perfection, it is necessary to provide a shoe which will allow the free movement and expansion of the foot,

as well as to provide a shoe that will pro erly support and brace'the foot and ank e against unnatural strains and jars.

In order toaccomplish these ends I have found by very careful study that there are several requisites essential to the proper production of such a shoe, some of the features of which consist of a thorou hly flexible connection betweenv the heel an sole over which is disposed the central fulcrum of the foot; also the shape of the heel itself as well as the shape of the upper portion of the shoe inclosing the heel are very essential elements', incasing the rear' portion of the foot disposed substantially on the line of weight of the body.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in arrangement and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claim, and while the invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described, still for -the purpose of disclosurereference is had to the accompanying drawings illustrating a practical embodiment of the invention, in whichv improved shoe. Fig. 2is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 isa view 1n section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 18, 1910 Application filed September 11, 1909. .Serial No. 517,329.

the heel and sole, and Fig. 6 is al sectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

ldesignates a flexible shank, preferably of molded rubber. disposed between the sole and heel of the shoe. This shank consists of atriangulanshaped forward end l and an oval-shaped rear end 3 joined by the central restricted portion 4 as shown in Fig. 5. rThe rear oval-shaped portion is adapted to rest upon the heel proper of the shoe, and this rear portion is provided with the raised por tion 5 formed integral with the flexible connection and disposed immediately below the rounded bottom of the heel of the foot- This forward portion 2 of the flexible shank slightly recessed on its underneath face', as at 6, Figs. 1 and 3, and is smoothly seated and cemented in a corresponding recess"y formed in the upper face of the sole. After having been firmly secured by a water proof cement the rubber shank may be sewed` or otherwise more` firn'ily secured to the solo, and the underneath layers of the leather solo extend rearward-ly' a suflicient distance, as' at T, to securely fasten the forward portion of the flexible shank in place.

The rear portion of the rubber shank is disposed above the leather heel, which is hollowedout to receive same. This leather will be stitched to the rubber shank.

The main insole 9 is aiiixed within the shoe, but it is cut away, as'at 10, so as not .to interfere with the flexibility of the shoe. The rear portion of this main insole is perforated, as at 1l, to fit the rubber projection 5, and a finishing insole 12 is disposed above the main-insole, and if necessaryfor smooth-v ness an insertion 13, provided with an aper- 'ture, may be slipped over the rubber projection 5 to build up the inside of the shoe soi insole and the rubber shank.

llefcrring to the heel proper of the shoe, it will'be observed from Figs. 3` and G that the height of the heel at its neck '17 is greater than its height at its rear 18, and the height o,f the inner edge 19a is greater than that of the outer edge 20a, so that the ankle is kept straight in walking, land the central cushion 5 relieves any jar on the bones of the ankle.

The heel is built up of la'yers of leather as in the customary construction, but it is of the special configuration just referred to and is provided with a base insertion,lrun ning across the rear, consisting'of a plurality of layers of rubber, preferably disposed atan angle, as shown at 19h in Fig. 2, so that the cushioning effect on the tread surface ofthe heel will be more toward the rea-rand outer edge of the heel.

In the drawings two layers of rubber, 19 and 20, are shown, and the inner edge of these layers may be provided with a tongue and recess to. fitl within the corresponding tongue and recess on the rear edge ofthe complementary layer of leather, as shown at 21, and this construction holds the rubber insertion more firmly against displacement.

From the foregoing'description itwill be observed that I have produced a shoe providing proper flexibility between the sole and heel; properly constructed heel; means, such as the cushioning member 5, directly taking the weight from the heel of theioot and relieving the jar on the` os calcis, a matter not provided for inany other shoe heretofore, and entirely different from the outside rubber heel tap. Also it will be observed that the particular contour of the upper, at the heel portion of the shoe, so incases the foot that when the shoe is laced up the whole portion of the foot immediately below the ankle bone and the instep is snugly incased, while the enlargedchamber, at the base of the heel, allows the soft parts of the heel of the foot to spread when pressure is exerted thereon from the weight of the body, especially when walking, the

' the sole and the heel, of a rubber shank disposed between the sole and the heel and forming a freely flexible support for the hollow of the foot, said shank -being mortised to the top of the sole and extending a substantial distance in front of the rear edge of said sole, and the rear of the shank being .supported abovethe heel of the shoe and provided with a rubber cushioning member molded integrally' with said shank, said cushioning member being located directly f above the central portion of the heel, sub- 

